ORCID Profile
0000-0003-2538-6205
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Publisher: BMJ
Date: 04-2020
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2019-030606
Abstract: This study investigated physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) among preschool-aged children in Singapore and potential correlates at multiple levels of the socioecological model from in-school and out-of-school settings. A cross-sectional study using a mixed-methods approach. Parent–child dyads from six preschools in Singapore. PA and SB of children (n=72) were quantified using wrist-worn accelerometers for seven consecutive days. Three focus group discussions (FGDs) among 12 teachers explored erse influences on children’s activities, and System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth (SOPLAY) assessed PA environment and children’s activity levels at preschools. Seventy-three parents completed questionnaires on home and neighbourhood factors influencing children’s PA and SB. Descriptive analyses of quantitative data and thematic analysis of FGDs were performed. Based on accelerometry, children (4.4±1.1 years) spent a median of 7.8 (IQR 6.4–9.0) hours/day in SB, and 0.5 (0.3–0.8) hours/day in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). MVPA was similar throughout the week, and SB was slightly higher on non-school days. In preschools, SOPLAY showed more children engaging in MVPA outdoors (34.0%) than indoors (7.7%), and absence of portable active play equipment. FGDs revealed issues that could restrict active time at preschool, including academic requirements of the central curriculum and its local implementation. The teachers had varying knowledge about PA guidelines and perceived that the children were sufficiently active. In out-of-school settings, parents reported that their children rarely used outdoor facilities for active play and spent little time in active travel. Few children (23.5%) participated in extracurricular sports, but most (94.5%) reported watching screens for 1.5 (0.5–3.0) hours/day. MVPA was low and SB was high in preschool-aged children in an urban Asian setting. We identified erse in-school and out-of-school correlates of PA and SB that should be taken into account in health promotion strategies.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-01-2014
Abstract: Sitting is associated with health risks. Factors that influence sitting are however not well understood. The aim was to examine the biological, socio-demographic, work-related and lifestyle determinants of sitting time (including during transport, work and leisure) in young adult Australian women. Self-reported data from 11,676 participants (aged 22–27 years in 2000) in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health were collected over 9 years in 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2009. Generalised Estimating Equations were used to examine univariable and multivariable associations of body mass index (BMI), country of birth, area of residence, education, marital status, number of children, occupational status, working hours, physical activity, smoking, alcohol intake and stress with week- and weekend-day sitting time. Compared with women in the respective referent categories, (1) women with higher BMI, those born in Asia, those with less than University level education, doing white collar work, working 41–48 hours a week, current smokers, non, rare or risky/high risk drinkers and those being somewhat stressed had significantly higher sitting time and (2) women living in rural and remote areas, partnered women, those with children, those without a paid job and blue collar workers, those working less than 34 hours a week, and active women had significantly lower sitting time. Among young adult Australian women, those with higher BMI, those born in Asia, those with higher level occupations and long working hours, were most at risk of higher sitting time. These results can be used to identify at-risk groups and inform intervention development.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 06-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-01-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S12889-021-10177-1
Abstract: This process evaluation explored the implementation and mechanisms of impact of a Park Prescription Intervention trial (PPI), including the effects of hypothesised mediators (motivation, social support, recreational physical activity [PA], park use and park PA) on trial outcomes. Participants from the community were randomly allocated to intervention ( n = 80) or control (n = 80) group. The intervention included baseline counselling, a prescription of exercise in parks, materials, three-month follow-up counselling and 26 weekly group exercise sessions in parks. Process evaluation indicators were assessed at three- and six-months. Implementation indicators included participation rates in intervention components and survey questions plus focus group discussions (FGDs) to understand which components participants valued. FGDs further assessed barriers and facilitators to intervention participation. To explore mechanisms of impact, linear regression was used to compare objectively measured PA between quantiles of group exercise participation. Structural equation modelling (SEM) explored hypothesised mediation of the significant intervention effects. Framework analysis was conducted for FGDs. Participants were middle-aged (mean 51, SD ± 6.3 years), predominantly female (79%) and of Chinese ethnicity (81%). All intervention participants received baseline counselling, the park prescription and materials, whilst 94% received the follow-up counselling. Mean minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA/week (95% CI) differed by group exercise participation ( p = 0.018): 0% participation ( n = 18) 128.3 (69.3, 187.2) minutes, 0–35.9% participation (n = 18) 100.3 (36.9, 163.6) minutes, 35.9–67.9% participation ( n = 17) 50.5 (− 4.9, 105.9) minutes and 67.9% participation (n = 18) 177.4 (122.0, 232.8) minutes. Park PA at three-months had significant mediating effects (95% CI) on recreational PA 26.50 (6.65, 49.37) minutes/week, park use 185.38 (45.40, 353.74) minutes/month, park PA/month 165.48 (33.14, 334.16) minutes and psychological quality of life score 1.25 (0.19, 2.69) at six-months. Prioritising time with family and preferences for unstructured activities were barriers to intervention participation. Human interaction via follow-up or group exercise were facilitators. This process evaluation showed park PA consistently mediated effects of the PPI, suggesting activity in parks was a mechanism of its effects. To optimise effectiveness, participants’ preference for prioritising time with family through family involvement and tailoring the intervention to participants’ preferences for structured or unstructured PA could be considered in future studies. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02615392 , 26 November 2015.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.JSAMS.2014.02.005
Abstract: To identify the biological, socio-demographic, work-related and lifestyle determinants of physical activity in young adult women. Prospective cohort study. Self-reported data from 11,695 participants (aged 22-27 years in 2000) in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health were collected over 9 years in 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2009. Generalised Estimating Equations were used to examine univariable and multivariable associations of body mass index, country of birth, area of residence, education, marital status, number of children, occupational status, working hours, smoking, alcohol intake, and stress with physical activity status (active, ≥600 MET·min/week or inactive, <600 MET·min/week, consistent with public health guidelines). All variables were significantly associated with physical activity in univariable models. In the multivariable model, the lowest odds of being active (compared with the relevant reference categories) were for women who: were born in Asia (OR=0.53), had less than 12 years of education (OR=0.79), were married (OR=0.66) or in a de facto relationship (OR=0.79), had at least one child (OR ranging from 0.67 to 0.69), and were classified as non (OR=0.66) or rare drinkers (OR=0.79). These results are among the first to confirm the biological, socio-demographic, work-related and lifestyle determinants of physical activity in women in their twenties and early thirties. These findings may be used to inform and improve the development of strategies, and to identify target groups most in need of intervention effort.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-03-2020
DOI: 10.1186/S12966-020-00941-8
Abstract: Programs promoting population health through physical activity (PA) and exposure to nature are popular, but few have been evaluated in randomized-controlled trials (RCTs). To investigate the effectiveness of a park prescription intervention (PPI) for improving total moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), other PA related behaviors, quality of life (QoL) and cardio-metabolic health among adults. Healthy in iduals aged 40 to 65 years were recruited through community health screenings and randomly assigned to 1) PPI: face-to-face Park Prescription + invitation to weekly exercise sessions in parks, or 2) control: standard PA materials. After the six-month intervention, participants completed accelerometer assessments, questionnaires on health behaviors and QoL, and health screenings. Independent s le t-tests were used to compare outcomes between groups, with secondary analysis adjusted for co-variates via multiple linear regression. A p -value .05 was considered statistically significant. Eighty participants were allocated to each group. Participants with mean age of 51.1 (Standard Deviation: 6.3) years were predominantly female (79%) and of Chinese ethnicity (81%). Participation in the group exercise started at 48% and declined to 24% by week 26. At six-months, 145 (91%) participants attended health screenings for outcome measure collection, and 126 (79%) provided valid accelerometer data. Time spent in MVPA favored the PPI group but this difference was not statistically significant (4.4 (− 43.8, 52.7) minutes/week when removing 2 extreme outliers 26.8 (− 9.7, 63.4) minutes/week). Time spent in parks (147.5 (2.1, 292.9) minutes/month), PA in parks (192.5 (59.5, 325.5) minutes/month), and recreational PA (48.7 (1.4, 96.0) minutes/week) were significantly greater in the PPI group. PPI also significantly improved psychological QoL (4.0 (0.0, 8.0). PPI improved park use, PA in parks, recreational PA, and psychological QoL but not total MVPA. Future RCTs’ are warranted to investigate PPI in different target populations and to provide further evidence for improvements in health outcomes. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02615392 , 26 November 2015.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-05-2017
DOI: 10.1007/S40279-017-0732-0
Abstract: Current Australian physical activity (PA) guidelines encourage adults to accumulate 150-300 min of moderate to vigorous PA each week. Some critics assert that 300 min is unachievable. The aims of this study were to identify the proportion of younger and mid-aged women who met the 300-min recommendation over a 12-year period, examine how the "highly active" women achieved this level of activity (in terms of walking, moderate activity, and vigorous activity), and to identify the sociodemographic, biological, lifestyle, and work-related determinants of being "highly active". Younger (n = 7843) and mid-aged (n = 8043) participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health completed triennial surveys between 2000 and 2013, when their ages were 24.6-36.3 and 52.5-64.5 years, respectively. Self-reported PA was assessed as time spent in walking, moderate activity, and vigorous activity in the previous week an index of MET.min/week was derived and dichotomized as <1000 MET.min/week (<300 min not highly active) or ≥1000 MET.min/week (≥300 min highly active). Generalized estimating equations were used to examine univariable and multivariable associations between a number of sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health variables with PA status (measured at every survey). In the younger cohort, the proportion who were highly active decreased from 40% in 2000 to 31% in 2012. High levels of activity were achieved through a combination of walking (39.1-45.1% of total activity) and vigorous PA (41.8-47.7%). In the mid-age cohort, the proportion of women who were highly active increased from 32% in 2001 to 47% in 2013 this was achieved predominantly through walking (55.8-59.7%). In multi-variable models, the highest odds for being in the high PA category (odds ratios [ORs] ≥ 1.20 p < 0.001) were for younger women who were single, those who worked long full-time hours, those who drank any quantity of alcohol, and those who sat for less than 8 h/day. In the mid-age cohort, the highest odds for being in the high PA category (ORs ≥1.20 p < 0.001) were for women with post-school education, those who were retired, those who were low-risk drinkers (compared with non-drinkers), those who sat for less than 8 h/day, and those with lower levels of stress. Our findings clearly indicate that the upper limit of the Australian PA guidelines is achievable for large numbers of women. Factors associated with being highly active were different for younger and mid-age women, but healthy weight, high education, and paid work (full-time in the younger women, part-time in mid-age) were common characteristics of highly active women in both cohorts.
Location: Singapore
No related grants have been discovered for Léonie Uijtdewilligen.